I think of all the ways I occupy my time. In the process, I am not silent. I do not listen and hear. As I write these words, the sound of a leaf blower across the lake breaks the silence.
I have spent so much of my life with the written or proclaimed word. I write books and sermons and notes and letters. I read books, articles, and information on the Internet. I occupy my time watching YouTube videos on photography or amateur radio. But am I listening?
One thing missing from society today is silence. Our lives are filled with sounds and noise. Young people damaged their ears with deafening songs. I suspect as they grow older they will become more deaf and unable to hear the subtle sounds of nature.
Even if I want to be silent, the sounds of my home air conditioner or autos on the nearby freeway introduce noise and sound.
I go to the gym many mornings. The sound of voices, exercise machines, and the clanging of weights drowns out silence.
My times of prayer in my little chapel or sitting on the deck can be times of silence. Before I go to sleep, I hear the sounds of crickets in the darkness.
I listen to my ham radio before going to sleep. Occasionally, I hear the ham radio operators in different countries trying to communicate. Last evening was a good night. I heard a ham in Ukraine and two others in New Zealand. Other voices filled the radio frequencies but I could not tell where they were from. There was the sense of the earth being in communication with people around the world.
I find photography a silent activity. It can teach me patience and watchfulness. I can see things in a different light or angle. The images I receive on my camera communicate silence. But nowadays, more people use their cameras for video and more sounds and more noise.
How important is silence?
Mother Teresa wrote, “See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grow in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun – how they move in silence … We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
What a powerful thought. “We need silence to be able to touch souls.” We need silence to be in touch with our own selves. We need silence to be able to hear and listen to the other.